Reading Aloud Activity

Plant a Kiss

Suggested Age: Toddlers-Grade 3

Submitted by Lori Bruner Okamura, School Librarian, Hongwanji Mission School

Book: Plant a Kiss by Amy Rosenthal

Story Summary:
A little girl plants a kiss in the ground and waits for it to grow. With simple text and rhyming words, the story unfolds as the kiss grows and grows.

Story Lessons:
Planting; Happiness and love; sharing kindness; making others happy.

 
Activities:

• Read the story together. Use different voices as “Little Miss” plants her kiss and waits for it to grow, then decides what to do with what she grows.
• Talk about planting and compare the story to what happens with plants. How do plants grow? Can they be shared? What is the girl sharing?
• When Little Miss wants to share, her friends tell her not to. She shares anyway. Ask your child: What do you do when your friends don’t agree with you? When do you listen to their advice? What do you do when you really want to do something else?
• Notice the opposites listed in the book. Can you add more opposites that Little Miss could share? (examples: hot/cold, inside/outside, mauka/makai)
• Make your own book with pictures of places and people that you would share your kisses. Who are the important people in your family? Draw or add photos of grand-parents, uncles and aunties, cousins, neighbors and people in the community like teachers, coaches, religious leaders and friends.
• Use math to show how many people can share the gift if each person she shares with gives the love to two more people, then two more people! Older children can draw lines to fill a page.